“I have four grandchildren, two great-granddaughters and two great-great-granddaughters. I have given a lot of love, now I reap what I sowed,” said the woman well-known by all as “Chiri”.

“I am not so young or so pretty but I have my inside beauty,” Chiri told the local media.

Optimism and desire to live is not lacking in the longevity of the Santacruceña who says “to hope to live another 100 more, but without being a burden to my daughter Ana Luisa Muñoz” and does not hesitate to affirm her willing to do her best to help out with the household chores.

Radio Santa Cruz/ Raúl Reyes Rodríguez

Amanda has just joined a group of centenarian Cubans who, according to official data in the three months of 2017, of 2,153 and spread out throughout the island, with the majority in Havana (303), followed by Granma (249) and Santiago de Cuba (245).

Centenarian Cubans around the country. Source: juventud rebelde

In Cuba, more than 20% of its population – some 2.2 million – now exceeds 60 years of age.

Although not making it in the international list of the oldest, María Emilia Quesada Blanco, at 116 is the oldest woman in Cuba and the fourth oldest in the world.

María Emilia Quesada Blanco who lives in Cienfuegos, at 116 (January 5, 1901) is the oldest woman in Cuba and one of the oldest in the world. Foto: Roberto Alfonso, 5septiembre.cu

Forecasts by the Departamento de Adulto Mayor, Asistencia Social y Salud Mental del Minsap, it is estimated that by 2050 Cuba will be the ninth oldest population in the world.